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Monday, February 10, 2014

Friends 4 Ever Friendship Bracelets

As any little girl will tell you, if you have friends (and who doesn't), you need to make friendship bracelets! But have you seen those thread bracelet weaving loom things that they want girls to use now a days?! They are way too complicated for me, much less my 8 year old daughter!For this post, we're going old-school! Call it 'vintage' if you like. This is the way we made friendship bracelets back when I was in school. It's so much easier, and they have special meaning in how they're put together - not sure if that's true for those fancy woven ones. They're called 'Friends 4 Ever Friendship Bracelets' for a reason. You'll notice they have 4 strands of thread, in 4 different colors, tied in 4 knot sections. Get it? Friends 4 Ever!I know my little girl just loved making these, and I'm sure yours will too.You will need:

4 skeins of embroidery floss thread in 4 different colors

scissors

1 safety pin

small beads or charms (optional)

Method:

Cut approximately 24 - 30 inch legnths of each color of embroidery floss thread. Do not separate the individual threads.

Make sure the ends are even. Keeping all the threads together as one, tie the ends together using an Overhand Knot. To see an animation of this knot, click HERE. Make sure you tie the knot close to the end, but leave about 1 inch to tie the bracelet on with later.

Insert the safety pin through this knot and attach it to something (such as your shoestring) to secure the end as you create the bracelet.

Begin by choosing the color that you want to start with. Separate that color from the other three, and hold them in opposite hands. Hold the group of three with your smallest three fingers and (for lack of a better phrase) make a 'gun' with your thumb and pointer finger - over the threads.

Using the color you want, cross over all three of the other colors, wrap around your thumb (outside to inside), and then around your pointer finger (inside to outside). Pass under the set of three, then pull the end of the string up through the middle of the triangle shape that you just made (see picture).

This picture was actually taken a little further into the bracelet. If you look closely,
you can see the bracelet beginning to form just above her right hand.

Pull this string carefully to tighten the knot. Remember to keep the set of three colors pulled snugly. This helps to keep things tidy. Continue this motion three more times. You should only see the color you wanted for those first 4 knots. Don't fret, it will get easier as you go along.

Now, choose your next color and repeat the procedure.

Continue this process until all 4 colors have been tied into 4 knot sections. (You should now be able to tell what your bracelet will look like when it's finished.)

Keeping your color pattern, continue making 4 knot sections until the bracelet is long enough for your friend's wrist.

Remove the safety pin, and tie the ends together. Make sure it is long enough to still come off, but not so long that it falls off on it's own. Cut off any excess string.

Decorative Option:

If you want to add charms or beads to you bracelet, simply thread them on, wherever you like, in-between knots, as you are making it. I recommend using very small beads if you do, so that they won't make gaps in the pattern.